Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-Oh. The story is loosely based on the devil wears prada. Plotlines and twists which you recognize are not mine.
The World Is Not Enough
By Venicegroove
Summary: Fresh out of college Serenity Wheeler lands the job a million girls would die for – Seto Kaiba's personal assistant. Serenity is sorely tested day and night, but puts up with it all for the prize: a recommendation from Kaiba for the job of her dreams. However, the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And if she survives, Serenity has to decide if it's worth the price of her soul. SxS
"Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live."- Eckhart Tolle
The light had barely turned green when the myriad of overly eager cabs and luxury sedans roared past the bucking bronco I was trying to navigate around the city streets. Gas.Clutch. Shift. Release Clutch. I repeated in my head over and over again. However, the fact that I had actually had two whole driving lessons for stick shift vehicles did even less than it should have to comfort me. The little car bucked wildly into the intersection and then without warning, the lurching evened out and I began to pick up speed, lots of speed. I began having an anxiety attack when I saw the speedometer at 55 kilometres per hour. I could not handle this deathtrap at that speed. When I noted a cab looming dangerously close to the car's rear, I failed to notice a pedestrian step out in front of this little demon, and I could do nothing but slam on the brakes so hard that my heel snapped off.
Damn. Third pair this month.
It was a relief when the car stalled, since I'd forgotten to clutch when I braked for that pedestrian's life who didn't even say thank you for being merciful upon his innocent soul while I was driving the devil's car. I had a few seconds to regroup, once I'd tuned out the angry honking, yelling, and several different languages of insults being thrown my way, to pull off my shoes and toss them into the passenger's seat. My hands left wet sweat stains across the leather steering wheel and I reminded myself that if the natural order of things persisted, I'd probably be called the 'dirty little mutt's relative' and told to clean it later by his highness Seto Kaiba. He would certainly notice every detail and certainly biologically link it to me with his psychic abilities that seem to prevent him from overlooking a single mistake. Oh well, 'eff him. If I am going to end up cleaning it, I might as well not be frugal in messing it up.
It's not my fault he has to own a thirty-six million yen Callaway. [about $305,000 USD
And it's stick shift of all things? Who in the hell would pay thirty-six million yen for stick shift! This is unbelievable.
"Move it, bitch! What do you think this is? Driving school? Get outta the way!" hollered an impatient driver clad in overbearing leather.
I raised my hand to give him the finger and then turned my attention back to this precious hunk of metal. Let's try this again. Gas.Clutch. Shift. Release clutch. I'd finally negotiated the car several blocks when my cell phone beeped hyperly. I have confirmed that life cannot let me be miserable quietly, because the devil himself was calling to make my day even worse.
Caller ID confirmed: Seto Kaiba
My cursed boss.
"Serenity! Serenity can you hear me? Serenity!" His voice barked the moment I'd open the phone, no small feat considering what my eyes, hands, and limbs were contending with. I propped the phone between my ear and shoulder.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba. I can hear you perfectly."
"Where is my car?"
Luckily I came to a red light and breathed a heavy sigh of relief that I managed not to hit anything, or anyone. "I'm in the car now. I can see Kaibacorp a few blocks away. I will be there momentarily." I figured he was beside himself with whether or not I could handle this priceless piece of machinery so I reassured him that everything was under control and that we would both arrive in perfect condition.
"Stop talking. I don't care." He cut me off midsentence. "I need you to pick up Mokuba and drop him off at home before you come back, and now that I think of it, Arisu needs to be picked up and dropped off." Click. End of Story. I had long come to realize that our conversations, no, his demands, came to an end once he provided all the information that he thought I deserved to know. First off, who the hell is Arisu? Where is she at the moment? Does she know I am to pick her up? Why is she going back to his apartment? Some girlfriend? I felt a twinge at that last statement, but chocked it up to mental incapability to imagine that man with female companionship. Voluntary female companionship. The man was as cold as liquid nitrogen. And on top of this, he was the billionaire with a mansion, nanny, chauffer, housekeeper, and probably about 20 cars in his garage. Why was I the one who had to do it?
Then again, I seem to be doing these sorts of things for him a lot lately.
The light had turned green again, and I was assaulted with unoriginal rude insults again. I pulled into a bus lane and turned on my flashers. Breathe in. Breathe out. This time, I gloated for remembering to apply the parking brake and use the clutch to brake. It has been years since I have driven shift, not since my poor brother Joey got his first low-end car and offered it up for a few driving lessons which I cleverly want to deny even happened. However, Kaiba didn't care about that when he called me into his office two hours ago.
"Serenity, I need you to pick up my car and drop it off. See that it gets there undamaged as I'll need it tonight for dinner with a few clients. See to it immediately."
I stood rooted to the spot in front of his mahogany desk, but he'd already ruled out any protest from me. Or so he thought. "But can't you just take your GranTurismo?" I blurted, hoping he would be impressed that I knew the model of his car without him directly telling me. It seems I had acquired an aptitude for identifying impressive mechanics since I began working at KaibaCorp
"IMMEDIATELY!" He reinforced.
'Whatever', I thought to myself, more bothered in calculating how many things were going to go wrong THIS time. First, where was it? The dealership? Or one of the five million other auto shops in Domino. Or maybe he leant it to a friend? Wait, he doesn't like friends. That's out. Or maybe he was referring to a new car he'd just purchased and hadn't picked up yet? Bugger if I know.
I started by calling Mokuba, his sweet little brother who sympathetically was always eager to help bail me out, sometimes too eager. I called his cell phone but stupidly remembered that he was still in school. Next I called the nanny, who proved to be extremely helpful. She told me the car wasn't brand new and was in fact a "gunmetal-coloured convertible" but she had no idea where it was. A phone call to his chauffer, since his chauffer had to pick him up after dropping off the car, revealed that Kaiba owned a Callaway. Yes! A lead! Once call to the Callaway dealership told that they had just finished touching up and installing new tires on a gunmetal Callaway C16 speedster.
I'd ordered a Town Car to take me to the dealership where I forked over a note I forged with SetoKaiba's signature with instructions to let me take the car. No one seemed to care that I'd just marched in and demanded someone else's thirty-six million yen car. They laughed when I asked them to back it out of the garage because I had never driven stick-shift in reverse before. Since then, I'd made it twelve blocks in half an hour.
I made the round of phone calls again, but this time Mokuba picked up on the third ring. School must be out.
"Hi Mokuba, it's Serenity."
"Hi! Do you by any chance know who is coming to pick me up? School let out fifteen minutes ago."
Rule #252: all Kaibas are impatient.
"I am coming for you Mokuba, but I had to pick up your brother's Callaway and I can't really drive stick. Then, we have to go pick up Arisu, whoever the hell that is."
Mokuba laughed for what felt like a day before he said, "Arisu is our German Sheppard puppy that's at the vet. She just got spayed. Seto was supposed to pick her up tonight but I guess that client dinner came up…"
"You can't be serious!? I have to pick up you, and then a German Sheppard with this two-seater Callaway and NOT CRASH!? That is never going to happen." I hollered into the phone.
"Impossible is part of your job. I don't mind if the dog sits in my lap, so can you come get me? Waiting is boring." Click. Just like his brother, only polite and relaxingly tolerable.
I managed to swing by Mokuba's prep school within fifteen minutes, and once he saw how terrible I was at shift, he made an angel's ultimatum: "You drive, I'll shift and tell you when to hit the clutch." He offered.
HALLELUJAH!!! HALLELUJAH!!!
We made it to the animal clinic in less than ten minutes, with Mokuba telling me what to do, and me obeying. This was no different than what I did for Seto Kaiba, only Mokuba was gentle, sympathetic, and genuinely trying to help, not make things worse. I applaud him for shifting left-handed. The only stress we encountered was when a cab came within three centimeters of the back bumper. At that point, I was not the only one having a panic attack, but Mokuba too.
"Big Brother hates scratches on his things." Mokuba blurted, which he really didn't have to say, because I'd be upset too if some lowly cab put a scratch on my thirty-six million yen speedster.
I gulped, "I'll keep that in mind." Which I didn't really have to say either.
"A nick in the car might cost you your job, or your life." Mokuba added. He really didn't have to say that. I feel another anxiety attack coming. Breathe In. Breathe out.
We arrived at the clinic, and there wasn't a legal parking spot so Mokuba called the clinic and had them bring Arisu out to us. The nurse carefully showed us her belly and advised to drive carefully as the dog was experiencing some discomfort. Don't worry lady, I am driving carefully to save my life – if the dog benefits from this, that's just a bonus. On top of that, I had just enough time to field a call from Seto Kaiba demanding me to return in ten minutes.
Mokuba, still shifting, was a big more distracted this time with the dog howling in his lap and refusing to sit still. We navigated several blocks, when hell broke loose. I had to endure both Arisu's and Mokuba's howling when I accelerated too abruptly causing Arisu's to slam her paw into Mokuba's crotch when her sore spots were jolted from inertia. Mokuba, preoccupied with his own pain, stopped shifting. I nearly cried when I saw we were in fourth gear. So this is what four years of analyzing words beyond recognition, deconstructing plays, poems, literary works, lab rats, and other things that one did at college were for – comforting a German Sheppard puppy and praying your boss's brother would be able to have kids one day while trying not to destroy someone else's really expensive car.
Just what I always wanted.
I managed to skid to a stop in front of the enormous Kaiba mansion, dump Mokuba and Arisu off at the gate, and somehow managed to lurch my horrible stick-shifting skills back to Kaiba corp. I hauled my ass back into KaibaCorp, stopping at the bathroom to brush my hair and fix my make-up, as Kaiba hated being in the presence of 'dirty' commoners. He was continuously reminding me to look presentable and neat every day if I ever wanted to be viewed as anything higher than my 'mutt' of a brother. After all, he hated disorganization. Details noted, I must have spent more time fixing myself since I've been at Kaibacorp than I have my entire life.
Not bad, I thought as I assessed the damage control I'd done at a rush. No one seemed to think I was dangerously close to suicide only a few minutes before. And I was only three minutes past my ten minute deadline when I finally skidded into Kaiba's office.
"Serenity, where are Mokuba and the puppy?" He asked, not looking up from his desk.
"I left Mokuba and the puppy with your doorman." I said proudly, knowing I hadn't killed anyone or left a scratch in his perfectly expensive car.
"And why would you do that?" Kaiba asked quietly, with a deadly utterance under his voice. "I specifically asked you to bring them here." His blue eyes finally met mine, and I didn't need to see them to tell that they were laughing at my mistake.
"Well, I thought you wanted them dropped-"
"Enough of your incompetence. Clearly they aren't here and I don't want explanations, I want results. Go back and get them. Return in fifteen minutes." He ordered, smirking as if daring me to protest.
I daresay I was proud to wipe the smirk off of his face when I said, "Of course, fifteen minutes."
I started shaking the moment I left his office. Was it too much to hope that he'd die from something rare and exotic to which nobody knew the cure? Maybe I could poison his food tonight and then I'd be released from this well of misery.
Then I reasoned, You don't want him to die, because if he does, I relinquish the chance to kick his perfectly formed ass. If he dies, I lose all hope of killing him myself. And that would be a shame.
For Kaiba-fanatics, I know he is human. He will not be an ass the entire story.
Is this story a keeper? Or delete? Review with your thoughts.